NEIL BLAKE | photojournalist | michigan | 989.859.7238

Dow Corning Tennis Classic

2012-02-21T12:42:00.002-05:00

The Dow Corning Tennis Classic rolled into town a few weeks ago and I spent my fair share of time on the court shooting pros who may break into the big leagues in coming years. I heard one coach describe the event as triple-A baseball. It's not the majors, but they are getting close.

Darth Vader in the Kitchen

2012-02-14T22:41:00.006-05:00

Things I saw on Friday: a baby calf, a dog chasing a vacuum cleaner, a cat named Fuzzy, a sixty car pile up on I-75, and Darth Vader eating pizza. This post is about the last event of that hectic day. I followed local Star Wars enthusiasts on their way to the 3D premiere of Episode I. The original Star Wars movies are some of my favorites and I had a blast hanging out with the crew as they suited up. The next post will include a picture of Fuzzy the cat.

Off the ice

2012-02-09T15:41:00.002-05:00

[Midland senior Kristen Kareus carries an armful of hockey sticks to the Midland bench at Midland Civic Arena on Wednesday prior to the game against H.H. Dow High School. Kareus is a manager with the team. The Chargers scored two goals in the third period to tie the game, but the Chemics pulled out a win in the final minutes to make it 5-3.]

Daily Grind

2012-02-07T16:40:00.005-05:00

The first month of new year flew by with a lot of daily assignments and a new project starting up. One month down, eleven to go! I have a good feeling about 2012.

Winter feels like spring

2012-02-04T19:03:00.001-05:00

I took a walk on the Tridge today to see what people were up to and saw teenagers taking their chances on what little ice we have this winter. I took a few from up high before I ventured out onto the frozen river to get some photos closer up. It felt alright under the feet, though I wonder how thick the ice really was.

Synchro

2012-01-23T15:49:00.008-05:00

I've been working on a feature story about a local synchronized swim team. With a lot of trial and error (and one big error which left me with a soaked camera) I think I'm getting a hang of underwater photography. I plan on being a little more careful during the rest of the project.

Back on the basketball beat

2012-01-06T21:53:00.001-05:00

New Year

2012-01-05T16:00:00.002-05:00

It's 2012 which means it's time to edit everything from 2011. I'm also going through the archive looking at everything I ever shot to put together a website edit. Looking back - and planning ahead.

[dubois county, fall 2010]

Solitude

2011-12-22T12:19:00.004-05:00

I found Naomi while on a feature hunt along the lake shore on Wednesday. She was looking out across the bay and I snapped this photo before she became aware that I was taking her picture. It was her birthday and she was looking for an escape from the city. I could relate and we talked for a few minutes before I continued on through the fog.

Big Wheel

2011-12-19T11:26:00.003-05:00

Before the famous plastic tricycle took the name a "Big Wheel" referred to a logging apparatus invented and used in Michigan in the late 19th century. A gentleman in Sanford recently assembled a team to construct one and once it was completed Moses Yoder drove it to the Sanford Historical Museum with his Belgian horses Amos and Andy.

Dropping some sweet beets

2011-12-16T12:07:00.003-05:00

[okay. HORRIBLE pun, I know. but these are sugar beets that were spilled off of M-30 earlier this week. no one was seriously injured in the crash.]

Farm media tour

2011-12-16T10:59:00.003-05:00

From back when the grass was green...

Coleman aglow

2011-12-13T10:03:00.003-05:00

Skater

2011-12-12T12:00:00.002-05:00

[sean proctor skating it up in east lansing]

Audience

2011-12-06T21:05:00.005-05:00

Almost a year ago to the day I wrote this as an email and attached the photo to a close circle of friends. Looking at it today, it still applies to me. I know it's not a great photo, and it'll never be in any portfolio, but it matters to someone.

--------

I was done. I was mentally checked out of the game and was thinking about other things - like cold medicine and my bed. Jasper lost the basketball game in the third period and by the fourth both teams had put in their sophomores. I was sitting in the second row of the bleachers (which had started to empty), camera in my lap and was waiting for the last few minutes to tick off the clock so I could snap a photo of the scoreboard and leave.

"Are you Neil?"

I turned around and a woman wearing a gray sweatshirt with "Jasper" emblazoned in yellow and black across the front introduced herself as the mother of Jack, a 10-year-old that I had snapped a feature photo of the week before. It ended up running in color on the front page.

"I just wanted to tell you how thrilled we were to see it," she said. "We've gotten a lot of compliments."

We chatted a bit more about her son and I told her the circumstances of the photo, how it came about, how I had Jack hold my camera as I shimmied up the basketball hoop, how my battery died after blindly firing 12 frames. It was one of those slow news days and we needed a feature. I also needed to print out some DVD labels for my portfolio and on my way to Dave's house to use his printer I decided to swing up a side street to see if anyone was outside. It was a cold November day and I wasn't expecting much but sure enough, there was Jack shooting free throws in his driveway after school. The entire interaction lasted about 10 minutes.

As I walked out of the high school tonight I thought how easily I forget what it means for people to be in the paper. It could years before Jack has another opportunity to be featured in his home town paper. Whoever I'm photographing, whatever I'm feeling at the moment, no matter how rushed I am, they deserve my best.

When I was a counselor at a small camp in northern Michigan the director had a phrase that he started repeating after the first few weeks had gone by and the exhaustion had started to show up in our faces. "You've been here X number of weeks, but remember, it's their first week here." In the same way, by now I've turned in hundreds of photos and met hundreds of people while doing this job, but for them it could be their first (or only) time in the paper.

November 15

2011-12-06T18:21:00.004-05:00

During the opening week of deer season I spent a few hours with Zach and his dad, Rich, out in their deer blind for a story I was working on. It was a unique experience being that still in the woods. Listening. Watching. Letting your breathing fall into a pattern. Stillness. Seconds turning into minutes, minutes turning into hours. I lost all sense of time, just being there letting my mind drift. I lost myself in my thoughts. Something I can easily do away, but being there, watching the shadows lengthen in the forest was good. Calming.

Mobile Meat Processing

2011-12-03T20:08:00.006-05:00

"Classic country tunes float through the crisp November air on opening day from a white trailer parked in the woods at a Sanford home. Inside, two men work diligently shoulder to shoulder slicing venison. A cut here. A cut there. Cut, slice, cut, slice, cut, slice. They have the rhythm down. “The whole secret is to know where your fingers are at,” one of them says about ensuring that they don’t end up sliced themselves. “Don’t force it.”

The advice comes from Gary Giddings as he cuts up an eight point buck for Rich Hale and his fourteen year old son, Zach, who killed the deer. Giddings, a Midland man, started his business, Mobile Meat Processing, three years ago but he’s been working in the meat industry long before taking his skill to the road. He’s worked as a butcher since the eighth grade and graduated from the National School of Meat Cutting in Toledo, Ohio in 1982.

Giddings is proud of his door to door service. “When I leave it’s in their freezer,” he says. As far as he knows he’s the only mobile processing unit in the state. A few hours later, the meat is packaged and turned over to the Hales and the white trailer rumbles off through the woods. This time of year, they process a lot of deer, but they have upcoming jobs with hogs and goats.

Back at Gary’s home in Midland, he and his business partner, Nick Moeller, clean the knives and spray out the blood from the white interior. Gary outfitted the trailer himself. His wife, Debra, found a trailer with a frame and he went to work putting in the insulation and equipment. After finishing their day jobs, they load up and drive out to wherever meat needs processing."

Hello winter.

2011-11-30T18:03:00.001-05:00

6:18 a.m.

2011-11-22T18:11:00.003-05:00

I woke up to my phone ringing. I thought it was my alarm and I didn't answer. When I looked at the screen I saw the missed call from Ralph (editor). Not good. At 6:18 it could only be spot news. I called back and got the report of the accident. "People still inside and climbing out of a car on M-20." "Alright, I'll check it out..." Often it's a wild goose chase. But you never know.

I drove by the scene it didn't look like much, so I didn't plan on stopping. On my second pass I saw a car on its side so I found a parking spot a few hundred yards up on a side road and carefully walked along the shoulder to the scene. There was no ambulance and police officers were pretty relaxed. A good sign. I took this shot and was getting ready to leave when the officer in the photo told me there was headed to a fatal car/pedestrian accident across town. "Here we go again..."

I headed there, shot it quick, and headed back to the office to layout the page on deadline.

11.11.11.

Bullock Crek Eq.

2011-11-22T17:35:00.005-05:00

This is the final edit from the Bullock Creek equestrian story I did on the team earlier this fall. I followed the team through two competitions held at the Midland County Fairgrounds this year. The team was great to hang with and the access was good. I always looked forward to my time at the fairgrounds, even if it meant a little less sleep bone chilling fall mornings.

Red

2011-11-15T16:31:00.002-05:00

From a fruitless feature hunt in New Hampshire one snowy afternoon last January. Can you tell I'm going through the hard drive?

Snow on the mind

2011-11-15T16:28:00.004-05:00

I'll miss New Hampshire's sunny winter days, but with a killer snow forecast this year we'll see what Michigan can come up with.

[NH. Jan. 2011.]

Living life

2011-11-14T16:15:00.011-05:00

On Sunday I got to see Zach and Sarah, two of my best friends from high school. I stood in their wedding a few years ago, but lost touch with them while I tromped around the states on internships. I also got to see Matt, another buddy from high school. We shot a few clays and then I shot a few photos of Zach as he sighted in his gun for opening day.

I love Michigan.

November Sky

2011-11-14T16:14:00.001-05:00

On the desk (round two)

2011-11-09T14:53:00.002-05:00

A few more of my A1 layouts from the desk shift. I'm getting to the point where I can bang out a page in a half hour, but I've caught going to my 'safe' layouts when the pressure is on. Like with anything else, a little planning goes a long way.

Midland vs. Dow

2011-10-26T21:14:00.003-04:00

Last week was the annual showdown between the Midland and Dow football squads. A good crowd turned out and our staff got out to cover the action. To see our edit from the night, click here.

Northwood takes another loss.

2011-10-22T19:25:00.003-04:00

The Middle Third

2011-10-17T21:04:00.005-04:00

One of the first things I learned in photo class was the "rule of thirds." It's also one of the first things I unlearned. Here are the center of things from my three assignments today in the order that they were shot. A Dow Chemical media tour, occupy Midland, and Midland soccer. Looks like I need to get back to the basics.

Creek Equestrian

2011-10-11T23:14:00.004-04:00

Ever since I started in Midland I had a gut feeling that I should call Jane, Creek's equestrian coach, to see if she'd be interested in a photo story. It took me awhile to pick up the phone to get the ball rolling, but once I did the team, coaches and parents invited me in. This weekend is the state championships which will wrap up my time with the team. I'm excited to see the photos in print, but a little sad that I won't be hanging around the barns much longer. Here are a few from tonight's practice.

On the desk

2011-10-04T18:23:00.003-04:00

For the past two weeks I've been on the desk editing and designing. I did a stint in August but relied on my coworkers to help me as I fumbled around in inDesign. Nick was there to assist with the Alzheimer's pages for one of the Sunday sections, but the rest were done on deadline. Turns out, I like design. But with that said I'm glad to be on the night shift this week. Back to prep sports and small town events.

UP

2011-09-28T13:53:00.001-04:00

Hold Tight

2011-09-20T19:11:00.001-04:00

Dog Days

2011-09-20T19:08:00.003-04:00

Shooting Labor Day

2011-09-06T15:28:00.002-04:00

[Jake Petersen]

Band in the stands

2011-09-01T23:20:00.001-04:00

Fair nights, fair lights

2011-08-31T15:55:00.001-04:00

Pachyderm

2011-08-31T15:32:00.004-04:00

At the fair this year I stuck close to the elephant show looking for features. The more I shot the more graphically focused it became, and we dropped this photo six columns in the middle of my page on the pachyderms.

MAYFL

2011-08-31T15:03:00.002-04:00

MAYFL. Midland Area Youth Football League. I was relieved to see these kids practicing in the setting sun on a feature hunt. I drove over 60 miles in the county but ended up shooting this team, the Knights, just a few blocks from my house. I'm sure there is a lesson in there somewhere.

Pregame

2011-08-26T21:48:00.001-04:00

Fair Blues

2011-08-15T16:51:00.002-04:00

First day

2011-07-25T18:32:00.006-04:00

My friend Libby March got the Concord Monitor photo internship after me and our time at the Monitor overlapped a few days in June. After her first day of work John and I invited her over to the house to welcome her to town. About five minutes after this photo was taken we went outside and saw smoke two houses down from ours. We grabbed our cameras and as we rounded the corner we could see a crowd starting to gather to watch the firefighters at work. A quiet night and suddenly spot news. Sometimes the job is like that.

Ducks

2011-07-25T16:58:00.006-04:00

4th

2011-07-15T21:49:00.001-04:00

Tri-City Motor Speedway

2011-07-08T21:47:00.001-04:00

The Great Lake State

2011-06-28T21:00:00.005-04:00

After a year away and two internships I'm back in my native state working at the Midland Daily News just 30 miles away from where I grew up. It's good to be home.

[Lake Michigan, 2010]

Kimball School fifth grade

2011-06-18T18:00:00.001-04:00

UNH School of Law commencement

2011-06-18T17:23:00.002-04:00

Rundlett Middle School trip

2011-06-18T17:17:00.000-04:00

Pheonix Hill Farm

2011-06-18T17:03:00.001-04:00

St. Paul's School graduation

2011-06-18T16:54:00.000-04:00

Ron and Jon

2011-05-23T08:17:00.002-04:00

U.S. Rep. Ron Paul visited New Hampshire last weekend and former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman made the rounds this weekend.

Erasmus Institute Commencement

2011-05-09T08:07:00.000-04:00

Christmas 2010

2011-05-04T20:12:00.005-04:00

I found this on my hard drive today. It was taken at the midnight mass in St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Jasper, Indiana. Earlier in the day I met the choir director on an assignment and she invited me to the service. I decided to go last minute and stood up near the choir taking it in.

11-year-old artist.

2011-05-04T19:49:00.001-04:00

15-5

2011-04-27T01:00:00.002-04:00

8-2

2011-04-26T08:19:00.003-04:00

Wounded Eagle

2011-04-19T00:01:00.002-04:00

Tailgater

2011-04-18T21:03:00.001-04:00

(Tea) Party at the State House

2011-04-17T00:14:00.000-04:00

Tragedy

2011-04-15T23:11:00.002-04:00

[Headline: Man kills self after blast]

Before the storm

2011-04-13T00:05:00.004-04:00

The storm is several months off yet, but sometimes you catch a flash out of the corner of your eye.

Season Opener

2011-04-12T09:42:00.001-04:00

NH Budget Cuts II

2011-03-31T00:19:00.002-04:00

[Rev. William Exner of Goffstown, pastor of St. Matthew's Episcopal Church, is escorted from the State House by a New Hampshire State Trooper as the building closed for the day on Wednesday, March 30, 2011. He and a small group of clergy planned to hold a prayer vigil in the State House until the budget vote on Thursday, but agreed to be escorted from the building rather than face arrest.]

NH Budget Cuts

2011-03-30T15:36:00.003-04:00

For a great read on the NH budget cuts see Ray Duckler's piece here.

[Sherry Flynn of Milford, left, waits with her daughter, Erin, a 26-year-old with mitochondrial disease, and her husband Mike to testify before the House Finance Committee about the governor's proposed budget on Thursday, March 10, 2011. "There is no way to make do with what is being proposed here," Sherry said during her testimony.]

Kimball School Demolition

2011-03-30T15:33:00.003-04:00

[Liz MacBride of Contoocook, standing next to Jim Shultz of New Ipswich, winces as her old classroom in Kimball School is demolished on Monday, March 28, 2011. She taught art in the classroom for 11 of the 15 years that she taught in the building. She said that while it was heartbreaking to see the old building go, she was excited for the new school that will be built to take its place.]

Crossed Wires

2011-03-30T15:15:00.000-04:00

Parachute Games

2011-03-29T16:01:00.000-04:00

Student Protest

2011-03-22T00:07:00.002-04:00

[Melissa Gilman, center left, and Molly Womersley, center right, both juniors at John Stark Regional High School, walk on Monday, March 21, 2011 from their gathering spot on the State House steps to the street to protest state budget cuts that may affect the Concord Regional Technical Center.]

Waterville

2011-03-19T00:01:00.003-04:00

These kids are good. They spend their winters at Waterville Valley Academy and split their time between their lessons in the classroom and their lessons on the mountain. They are just your average high schoolers, plus goggle tans and a need for speed.

c. 2005

2011-03-11T10:41:00.003-05:00

This was taken on the Gulf Coast near Biloxi around New Year's in 2005. I was with several friends working to clear some of the debris from Katrina which hit a few months before. Most areas we went to hadn't been touched by clean up crews. The wreckage was unbelievable. In the midst of that, this was a beautiful scene that unfolded as the fog rolled in off the water.

From Above

2011-03-09T15:47:00.001-05:00

[Bow hockey revisited]

State House Tour

2011-03-09T15:01:00.000-05:00

Reach

2011-03-03T17:28:00.000-05:00

[Students from Michael Komorek's and Jeanne Torpey's fourth grade classes from Broken Ground School in Concord reach out to shake Congressman Frank Guinta's hand while on a State House tour on Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2011. The students also met governor John Lynch.]

Video Camp

2011-03-02T00:01:00.001-05:00

My first paying job as a photographer actually involved more video shooting and editing than stills. Maybe I'll get back to my roots someday. Maybe. For now here is a shot of kids on their February break (why doesn't Michigan have this?!) learning how to shoot it up. "Rule of thirds, rule of thirds" they kept reminding each other.

From the office window

2011-03-01T01:00:00.002-05:00

Bow High School Hockey

2011-02-27T15:15:00.002-05:00

Atlantic

2011-02-13T23:09:00.001-05:00

On the bus

2011-02-10T21:27:00.001-05:00

[concord xc ski team]

Snowsports

2011-02-08T23:34:00.000-05:00

I've been telling people I meet on assignment that 80 percent of the assignments I shoot I wear snow pants for. Meaning, most days I'm outdoors taking pictures. I think that figure is pretty close to the truth, though it could be closer to 90. Saturday I went north to photograph a biathlon. Cross country skiing plus target shooting equals a wicked good time.

Savannah and Holten (the kids in the photo) each hit 13 of their 15 shots. For comparison I hit 5 out of 10 with a gun that cost two grand more. Someone needs to practice up.

Lens Flare

2011-02-04T22:49:00.000-05:00

Back on the sports beat

2011-01-23T00:20:00.001-05:00

18"

2011-01-18T23:10:00.005-05:00

XC (winter edition)

2011-01-14T10:04:00.002-05:00

c. 2007

2011-01-10T21:11:00.004-05:00

For the past three years this roll of film has been knocking around in my car and today (my first day in Concord, NH) I decided to finally get it developed. It was pretty fun to see what turned up. Family, friends and a trip to Eagle Village to climb.

[neighbor and sister shoveling, big rapids, mi]

[justin in ropes course, hersey, mi]

[travis climbing, hersey, mi]

[shadow, big rapids, mi]

[family, alma, mi]

[rebekah, big rapids, mi]

Meat and Greet

2011-01-10T16:03:00.004-05:00

This was a Saturday that I photographed last fall on the local beef shoots that go on around Dubois county. The next few days I'll try to catch up on some of the Jasper photos that got lost along the way before I start with photos from 2011.

Cabby O'Neill

2010-11-29T16:05:00.000-05:00

This Saturday Jasper was kickin' it old school (well... isn't it always?) with a throwback game at Cabby O'Neill Gymnasium. The gym is vintage 1930's and was just restored this past year. My friend and photographer Jake May was visiting me this past week so we drove the two city blocks from my house to the gym and shot it up.

Waiting...

2010-11-23T13:52:00.002-05:00

[Southridge junior Emily Braunecker, left, watched the end of the girls junior varsity basketball game with Southridge cheerleaders juniors Brook Kilian, Jaclyn Altstadt, Alyssa Gehlhausen and senior Rachel Hanebutt on Monday at Memorial Gym in Huntingburg. Both the Southridge girls junior varsity and varsity basketball teams topped the visiting Boonville Pioneers.]

The (Children's) Nutcracker

2010-11-21T22:13:00.004-05:00

As soon as I stepped backstage and saw Little Bo Peep and her "lost" sheep I knew that I had my photo. I had to wait a while for it though. It was quite a chaotic scene with Arabian princesses, angels, and little ballerinas running around. It could have been visual overload but I kept coming back to the little sheep. While waiting for her turn to dance Bo Peep scooped one up and held her just long enough for me to snap off a few frames.

I take photos because they tell stories...

2010-11-20T22:25:00.000-05:00

...and sometimes cause they're pretty.

Marching

2010-11-01T22:55:00.010-04:00

Spent all of Saturday following the three local bands that made it to state. Made for an early morning, but there were plenty photos to made. Emotions were running high and I don't think I've ever seen more tears at one event. First, fourth, or ninth place, it didn't matter... endings are rough.

Also, I looked at the stats for my blog, and is it really possible that I have 1,000 page views from Australia? Doubt it.

Happy Halloween

2010-10-31T21:46:00.002-04:00

[Ran six columns on the front of The Herald yesterday. I still get geeked about big photos]

Hunting Feature

2010-10-25T15:44:00.007-04:00

Sometimes you get lucky. Saw these two between my regular assignments and couldn't let the opportunity slip by.

Cutline (top photo):
Cody Wolf, 15, and Grant Pund, 12, both of Dale, paused to listen for squirrels as they walked down the railroad tracks with their shotguns while hunting near their homes in Dale on Saturday afternoon. "It's a lot better than watching TV," Wolf said about hunting. The two usually wake up early on weekends and get to the woods while it is still dark to wait for their quarry to start moving.

Yup. Another sports photo.

2010-10-16T20:51:00.004-04:00

Headers

2010-10-16T20:18:00.002-04:00

Sports from the week (minus action)

2010-10-13T15:20:00.006-04:00

Senior Service Day

2010-10-13T15:14:00.002-04:00

I've photographed a lot of high schoolers lately. Also, I love fall and shooting under overcast skies. It's like shooting under a giant softbox.

Districts

2010-10-05T14:20:00.005-04:00

I'm still on a black and white kick. A reflection photo played big on the front page and referred back to the doubletruck on the inside. Gotta love the photo play at The Herald.

Newspaper Sharp

2010-10-02T01:38:00.008-04:00

Kid #1: "I see that guy EVERYWHERE!" said while listing off my assignments from the past week.
Kid #2: "Maybe he works for The Herald." said very matter o' fact.

Tonight was another grainy night under the lights. Since Heritage Hills is on Central Daylight Time they pushed the game back until eight. Living so close to that invisible border our EST schools play CDT schools quite a bit, and unfortunately I had to watch as the last of the sun's rays disappeared again well before the game started. Hello 3200 ISO.

Tomorrow I'm covering all the high school marching bands in our coverage area (five). They are competing in daylight so I'm hoping that I'll have a colorful blog post soon. Stay tuned.

Bass

2010-09-29T15:52:00.004-04:00

"What kind of drums are these?" I asked. "Bass," they replied together. "Gotcha, thanks..."

This weekend marching band districts are being held a block from my house. We're publishing a double truck on Monday, so I'll have a bunch more band features to post early next week.

XC

2010-09-29T15:35:00.002-04:00